BB & The Blues Shacks – Live At Vier Linden (Crosscut Records).

BB & The Blues Shacks is fronted by brothers Andreas and Michael Arlt and derive their unique style from the blues and R&B of the 40s and the 50s. They open with the high energy boogie of Hot Shot Bop and Andreas Arlt is given the spotlight for this instrumental – he does not disappoint. Michael Arlt adds his vocal for the rock & roll swinger, You Can Always Depend On Me and he responds to the enthusiastic crowd by showing that he is a more than capable live singer. The band stay in the rock & roll/boogie vein for Let’s Get Crazy and it’s becoming more obvious that Andreas’ guitar is the focal point for the group. Having said that, the rhythm section also plays their part with barrelhouse piano from Dennis Koeckstadt and driving bass & drums from Henning Hauerken and Andreas Rock respectively. Michael’s harmonica also gets an airing on this one and it’s all very passable. Next up is She’s Got Her Eyes On Me with reverb on full and harp on a high. This is a blues based swinger and they play so well that it’s very hard not to like this lot.

Andreas Alst is such a distinctive guitarist and the bouncy, fun blues of Can’t Hide Love is the perfect showcase – there’s even a bit of the Harry Lime theme thrown in for good measure. Lose My Mind is a high octave rocker with storming harmonica and Stompin’ And Rollin’ continues the fast pace as Koeckstadt rocks the joint. They can play the blues as well and Good Night’s Sleep is a Chicago blues that sounds as if it’s straight from Chicago, not Germany. Andreas Alst on guitar is nothing short of excellent as usual and he takes the audience in the palm of his hand during the quiet section of the song. There’s more of Andreas’ guitar excellence on Hear My Baby Naggin’ and Letters From My Baby shows how well the band can flit between blues and rock & roll. The closing track, Ain’t A Home No More is a bit of a blues chugger. It plods along very well but the Alst brothers cook it up towards the end of this eight minute, ground-out boogie. The band gives it their all throughout and this is exemplified by Michael Alst who blows his lungs out to the finish.

Also available is a twelve track DVD that has six different tracks from the CD. The DVD also has background information on the band and gives you an idea of what to expect at a Blues Shacks gig. The live arena is certainly their field and they have obviously honed their stagecraft on their many tours throughout Europe and the USA.

http://www.crosscut.de/
http://www.bluesshacks.com/

David Blue.